{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/6q1sf2n44h/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Memories of Migration Episode 9: Returns"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2019-08-05 (released)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Audio"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Natalie Milbrodt (Host)","Mary Twomey (Interviewee)","Solange Baptiste (Interviewee)","Luna Ranjit (Interviewee)","Antonina Cucchiara (Interviewee)","Esther Tabaco-Costanzo (Interviewee)","Eileen Sprague (Interviewer)","Ying Zhou (Interviewer)","Meera Nair (Interviewer)","Stephanie Fortino-Gonzalez (Interviewer)","Claro de los Reyes (Interviewer)","Jennifer Quiambao (Interviewer)","Adriene Lara (Producer)","Elias Ravin (Composer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}},{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis is the Queens Memory Podcast, a selection of personal histories from the borough of Queens in New York City. Our first season collects stories of migration. To begin our ninth episode, we’re reflecting on returns: the places to which we find ourselves coming back and how we get there.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFROM THE ARCHIVES: Storytellers whose oral histories we feature in this episode, with links to full interviews and timecode outlines\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/vital/access/manager/Repository/aql:34389\"\u003eMary Twomey\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Eileen Sprague in the \u003ca href=\"http://www.qcirishstudies.org/new-page\"\u003eIrish in Queens Oral History Project\u003c/a\u003e (2015)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/3f4kk94d89\"\u003eSolange Baptiste\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Ying Zhou as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://queensmemory.org/memories-of-migration-making-a-talking-family-story-quilt/\"\u003e\"Memories of Migration: Making a Talking Family Story Quilt\"\u003c/a\u003e workshop series at Flushing Library (2018)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/qf8jd4qj76\"\u003eLuna Ranjit\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Meera Nair (2016)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/x05x63bh5x\"\u003eAntonina Cucchiara\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Stephanie Fortino-Gonzalez (2017)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/s46h12vn3j\"\u003eEsther Tabaco-Costanzo\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Claro de los Reyes and Jennifer Quiambao in the My Baryo, My Borough (2015)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIN THE STACKS: References available through the Queens Public Library\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eResearch for this episode comes from the Queens Public Library stacks and databases, along with various online sources and Wikipedia articles.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOur research about warfare and presidential coups in Haiti in the 1990s and early 2000s led us to learning about Haiti’s long histories of state- and nation-building, of colonialism and occupation, and of U.S. intervention. In \u003ca href=\"http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.queenslibrary.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002\u0026amp;resultListType=RESULT_LIST\u0026amp;searchResultsType=SingleTab\u0026amp;searchType=AdvancedSearchForm\u0026amp;currentPosition=1\u0026amp;docId=GALE%7CA15929704\u0026amp;docType=Cover+story\u0026amp;sort=Relevance\u0026amp;contentSegment=\u0026amp;prodId=AONE\u0026amp;contentSet=GALE%7CA15929704\u0026amp;searchId=R7\u0026amp;userGroupName=nysl_me_queensb\u0026amp;inPS=true\"\u003ethis article\u003c/a\u003e, Herbert Buchsbaum reviews the circumstances and possible consequences of U.S. intervention in Haiti. \u003ca href=\"http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.queenslibrary.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002\u0026amp;resultListType=RESULT_LIST\u0026amp;searchResultsType=SingleTab\u0026amp;searchType=BasicSearchForm\u0026amp;currentPosition=1\u0026amp;docId=GALE%7CA16482413\u0026amp;docType=Article\u0026amp;sort=Relevance\u0026amp;contentSegment=\u0026amp;prodId=AONE\u0026amp;contentSet=GALE%7CA16482413\u0026amp;searchId=R8\u0026amp;userGroupName=nysl_me_queensb\u0026amp;inPS=true\"\u003eThis article\u003c/a\u003e by Kim Ives reflects on the ramifications of U.S. intervention in Haiti. We also read \u003ca href=\"http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.queenslibrary.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002\u0026amp;resultListType=RESULT_LIST\u0026amp;searchResultsType=SingleTab\u0026amp;searchType=AdvancedSearchForm\u0026amp;currentPosition=16\u0026amp;docId=GALE%7CA516634647\u0026amp;docType=Article\u0026amp;sort=Relevance\u0026amp;contentSegment=\u0026amp;prodId=AONE\u0026amp;contentSet=GALE%7CA516634647\u0026amp;searchId=R7\u0026amp;userGroupName=nysl_me_queensb\u0026amp;inPS=true\"\u003ethis article\u003c/a\u003e by Matthew J. Smith that describes a history of U.S. occupation and intervention in Haiti starting from 1919.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe learned about the Nepal Civil War, its circumstances and casualties, the armed rebellion and political organizing that led up to it, and its ongoing effects, through \u003ca href=\"http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002\u0026amp;resultListType=RESULT_LIST\u0026amp;searchResultsType=SingleTab\u0026amp;searchType=AdvancedSearchForm\u0026amp;currentPosition=34\u0026amp;docId=GALE%7CA72703324\u0026amp;docType=Article\u0026amp;sort=Relevance\u0026amp;contentSegment=\u0026amp;prodId=AONE\u0026amp;contentSet=GALE%7CA72703324\u0026amp;searchId=R9\u0026amp;userGroupName=nysl_me_queensb\u0026amp;inPS=true\"\u003ethis article\u003c/a\u003e by Peter Santina and \u003ca href=\"http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002\u0026amp;resultListType=RESULT_LIST\u0026amp;searchResultsType=SingleTab\u0026amp;searchType=AdvancedSearchForm\u0026amp;currentPosition=2\u0026amp;docId=GALE%7CA195774194\u0026amp;docType=Article\u0026amp;sort=Relevance\u0026amp;contentSegment=\u0026amp;prodId=AONE\u0026amp;contentSet=GALE%7CA195774194\u0026amp;searchId=R4\u0026amp;userGroupName=nysl_me_queensb\u0026amp;inPS=true\"\u003ethis article\u003c/a\u003e by Bishnu Thapa.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eREFERENCE DESK: Sources referenced in this episode from beyond the library\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMuch of our learning about the periods of warfare in Haiti mentioned by Solange Baptiste came from \u003ca href=\"https://archives.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO402D.html\"\u003ethis article\u003c/a\u003e by Michel Chossudovsky on the Centre for Research on Globalisation website, which offers a detailed and in-depth history of the major actors in U.S. war operations in Haiti. In \u003ca href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/haiti-us-occupation-hundred-year-anniversary\"\u003ethis article\u003c/a\u003e, Edwidge Danticat ties family stories with a century’s worth of history of American occupation in Haiti. Please note anti-Black racial slurs quoted in the last article.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eGUIDING QUESTIONS: Origin points for discussion\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe come back to the guiding question from our \u003ca href=\"../../../r/j96057dr8j\"\u003efirst episode on Origins\u003c/a\u003e. This question stems from Fred Moten, who welcomes people to a room with the questions: “How did you get here? What brought you here today?” Read more on page 5 of the Capilano Review \u003ca href=\"https://thecapilanoreview.com/app/uploads/2018/04/TCR-3.27.pdf\"\u003ehere.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e●       What’s a story you would want to tell about how you got to where you are now?\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eVoice narration, editing, and supervision by Natalie Milbrodt\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eProduction, writing, and research by Adriene Lara\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMusical composition by Elias Ravin\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eListen to the episode on SoundCloud, as well as any other platform you find your podcasts. Give us a like if you want, and comment to share your thoughts with us. Find more from \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/queensmemory\"\u003eQueens Memory at QueensMemory.org\u003c/a\u003e, on \u003ca href=\"http://facebook.com/queensmemory\"\u003eFacebook at Queens Memory\u003c/a\u003e, and on \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/queensmemory\"\u003eTwitter at @QueensMemory\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis audio piece was produced by the Queens Memory Project and is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License. For inquiries, please contact queensmemory@queenslibrary.org.\u003c/p\u003e"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis is the Queens Memory Podcast, a selection of personal histories from the borough of Queens in New York City. Our first season collects stories of migration. To begin our ninth episode, we\u0026rsquo;re reflecting on returns: the places to which we find ourselves coming back and how we get there.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFROM THE ARCHIVES: Storytellers whose oral histories we feature in this episode, with links to full interviews and timecode outlines\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/vital/access/manager/Repository/aql:34389\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eMary Twomey\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Eileen Sprague in the \u003ca href=\"http://www.qcirishstudies.org/new-page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eIrish in Queens Oral History Project\u003c/a\u003e (2015)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/3f4kk94d89\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eSolange Baptiste\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Ying Zhou as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://queensmemory.org/memories-of-migration-making-a-talking-family-story-quilt/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\"Memories of Migration: Making a Talking Family Story Quilt\"\u003c/a\u003e workshop series at Flushing Library (2018)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/qf8jd4qj76\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eLuna Ranjit\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Meera Nair (2016)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/x05x63bh5x\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eAntonina Cucchiara\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Stephanie Fortino-Gonzalez (2017)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"../../../r/s46h12vn3j\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eEsther Tabaco-Costanzo\u003c/a\u003e, interviewed by Claro de los Reyes and Jennifer Quiambao in the My Baryo, My Borough (2015)\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIN THE STACKS: References available through the Queens Public Library\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eResearch for this episode comes from the Queens Public Library stacks and databases, along with various online sources and Wikipedia articles.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOur research about warfare and presidential coups in Haiti in the 1990s and early 2000s led us to learning about Haiti\u0026rsquo;s long histories of state- and nation-building, of colonialism and occupation, and of U.S. intervention. In \u003ca href=\"http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.queenslibrary.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002\u0026amp;resultListType=RESULT_LIST\u0026amp;searchResultsType=SingleTab\u0026amp;searchType=AdvancedSearchForm\u0026amp;currentPosition=1\u0026amp;docId=GALE%7CA15929704\u0026amp;docType=Cover+story\u0026amp;sort=Relevance\u0026amp;contentSegment=\u0026amp;prodId=AONE\u0026amp;contentSet=GALE%7CA15929704\u0026amp;searchId=R7\u0026amp;userGroupName=nysl_me_queensb\u0026amp;inPS=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ethis article\u003c/a\u003e, Herbert Buchsbaum reviews the circumstances and possible consequences of U.S. intervention in Haiti. \u003ca href=\"http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.queenslibrary.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002\u0026amp;resultListType=RESULT_LIST\u0026amp;searchResultsType=SingleTab\u0026amp;searchType=BasicSearchForm\u0026amp;currentPosition=1\u0026amp;docId=GALE%7CA16482413\u0026amp;docType=Article\u0026amp;sort=Relevance\u0026amp;contentSegment=\u0026amp;prodId=AONE\u0026amp;contentSet=GALE%7CA16482413\u0026amp;searchId=R8\u0026amp;userGroupName=nysl_me_queensb\u0026amp;inPS=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eThis article\u003c/a\u003e by Kim Ives reflects on the ramifications of U.S. intervention in Haiti. We also read \u003ca href=\"http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.queenslibrary.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002\u0026amp;resultListType=RESULT_LIST\u0026amp;searchResultsType=SingleTab\u0026amp;searchType=AdvancedSearchForm\u0026amp;currentPosition=16\u0026amp;docId=GALE%7CA516634647\u0026amp;docType=Article\u0026amp;sort=Relevance\u0026amp;contentSegment=\u0026amp;prodId=AONE\u0026amp;contentSet=GALE%7CA516634647\u0026amp;searchId=R7\u0026amp;userGroupName=nysl_me_queensb\u0026amp;inPS=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ethis article\u003c/a\u003e by Matthew J. Smith that describes a history of U.S. occupation and intervention in Haiti starting from 1919.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe learned about the Nepal Civil War, its circumstances and casualties, the armed rebellion and political organizing that led up to it, and its ongoing effects, through \u003ca href=\"http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002\u0026amp;resultListType=RESULT_LIST\u0026amp;searchResultsType=SingleTab\u0026amp;searchType=AdvancedSearchForm\u0026amp;currentPosition=34\u0026amp;docId=GALE%7CA72703324\u0026amp;docType=Article\u0026amp;sort=Relevance\u0026amp;contentSegment=\u0026amp;prodId=AONE\u0026amp;contentSet=GALE%7CA72703324\u0026amp;searchId=R9\u0026amp;userGroupName=nysl_me_queensb\u0026amp;inPS=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ethis article\u003c/a\u003e by Peter Santina and \u003ca href=\"http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002\u0026amp;resultListType=RESULT_LIST\u0026amp;searchResultsType=SingleTab\u0026amp;searchType=AdvancedSearchForm\u0026amp;currentPosition=2\u0026amp;docId=GALE%7CA195774194\u0026amp;docType=Article\u0026amp;sort=Relevance\u0026amp;contentSegment=\u0026amp;prodId=AONE\u0026amp;contentSet=GALE%7CA195774194\u0026amp;searchId=R4\u0026amp;userGroupName=nysl_me_queensb\u0026amp;inPS=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ethis article\u003c/a\u003e by Bishnu Thapa.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eREFERENCE DESK: Sources referenced in this episode from beyond the library\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMuch of our learning about the periods of warfare in Haiti mentioned by Solange Baptiste came from \u003ca href=\"https://archives.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO402D.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ethis article\u003c/a\u003e by Michel Chossudovsky on the Centre for Research on Globalisation website, which offers a detailed and in-depth history of the major actors in U.S. war operations in Haiti. In \u003ca href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/haiti-us-occupation-hundred-year-anniversary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ethis article\u003c/a\u003e, Edwidge Danticat ties family stories with a century\u0026rsquo;s worth of history of American occupation in Haiti. Please note anti-Black racial slurs quoted in the last article.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eGUIDING QUESTIONS: Origin points for discussion\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe come back to the guiding question from our \u003ca href=\"../../../r/j96057dr8j\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003efirst episode on Origins\u003c/a\u003e. This question stems from Fred Moten, who welcomes people to a room with the questions: \u0026ldquo;How did you get here? What brought you here today?\u0026rdquo; Read more on page 5 of the Capilano Review \u003ca href=\"https://thecapilanoreview.com/app/uploads/2018/04/TCR-3.27.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ehere.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e●\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; What\u0026rsquo;s a story you would want to tell about how you got to where you are now?\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eVoice narration, editing, and supervision by Natalie Milbrodt\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eProduction, writing, and research by Adriene Lara\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMusical composition by Elias Ravin\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eListen to the episode on SoundCloud, as well as any other platform you find your podcasts. Give us a like if you want, and comment to share your thoughts with us. Find more from \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/queensmemory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eQueens Memory at QueensMemory.org\u003c/a\u003e, on \u003ca href=\"http://facebook.com/queensmemory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eFacebook at Queens Memory\u003c/a\u003e, and on \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/queensmemory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eTwitter at @QueensMemory\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis audio piece was produced by the Queens Memory Project and is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License. For inquiries, please contact queensmemory@queenslibrary.org.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/138/752/small/Screenshot_%2852%29.png?1642089445","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61532/file/138752","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - qmpodcast_s1e9_3.Mp3"]},"duration":1646.68088,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/138/752/small/Screenshot_%2852%29.png?1642089445","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61532/file/138752/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61532/file/138752/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/138/752/original/qmpodcast_s1e9_3.Mp3?1641894143","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":1646.68088,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61532/file/138752","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61532/file/138752/transcript/35159","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61532/file/138752/transcript/35159/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Queens Memory Podcast\nSeason 1 Episode 9\nTranscript (English)\n\nINTRO\n\nNATALIE MILBRODT, narrator: For full transcripts, translations, content notes, and resources from this episode, follow along with us on our show notes at Queens Memory dot org.\n\n[INTRODUCTORY MUSIC BEGINS]\n\nNM: This is the Queens Memory Podcast, a selection of personal histories from the borough of Queens, in New York City. This podcast comes to you from the Queens Memory Project, based in Jamaica, Queens at the Queens Central Library. I'm Natalie Milbrodt, Director of Queens Memory, where we record and preserve contemporary history across the borough. We grow our archives by collecting oral histories, photos, and mementos shared with us by community members. Local volunteers, who train with Queens Memory staff, facilitate and record our oral history interviews.\n\nWe feature oral histories from our archives so we can reflect on and engage with the histories we listen to and tell one another. How do we carry each other’s stories? What shapes our personal and family histories? How did we get to the neighborhoods where we live? And where are we in relation to each other's histories?\n\nAs part of New York City, Queens has long been a point of entry to the United States. Thinking about the borough in this way, we searched through our archives to gather stories of migration for this first season of the Queens Memory Podcast. These stories cross continents and move through decades of the past century. We share these oral histories to reflect on the histories of this borough, of this country, and of ourselves.\n\n[BACKGROUND MUSIC CHANGES]\n\n[INTRODUCTORY AUDIO COLLAGE BEGINS]\n\nMARY TWOMEY: I went home to Ireland for five months\nSOLANGE BAPTISTE: 18 months after I came here, the civil war started\nLUNA RANJIT: I really was thinking about this as a short stay - ...\nANTONINA CUCCHIARA: … - after 40 years\nESTHER TABACO-COSTANZO: I remember I went to Abuhan by myself - I tell ya - I was like, “I’m not goin’ back home”\n\n[PAUSE WITH MUSIC]\n\nNM: To begin our ninth episode, we’re reflecting on returns: the places to which we find ourselves coming back and how we get there. We opened this podcast season with our episode on origins saying we want to think about the many circumstances that shape personal migrations and stories. In our sixth episode on residence, we also considered our relationships to places where we live and our sense of home. We carry those thoughts and stories into this episode too, while we think about what’s involved in going back to places, and how we may or may not remain connected to them. As we listen in this episode, we can consider how our relationships to places change as we leave and return.\n\nLet’s listen.\n\n[BACKGROUND MUSIC FADES OUT]\n\nBODY\n\nNM: First we’ll hear Mary Twomey, who describes her family’s migrations in Ireland and the U.S. as impacted by war. For the next set of oral histories, we’re keeping with this theme of political circumstances, warfare, and migration.\n\n[FIRST ORAL HISTORY BEGINS, with MARY TWOMEY]\n\nMARY TWOMEY: I, you know, I saved my money for the year and I went home to Ireland for five months, and I had a great time! [LAUGHS] Because at that time, I was twenty, and my- I had, um- my sister was twenty-four, twenty-five. My other- my brother was twenty-one, my other brother was twenty-two so we were all of that- that age.\n\nEILEEN SPRAGUE, interviewer: They must have been so happy to have you back.\n\nMT: Yes! And my two younger brothers, wouldn’t- wouldn’t- they- I remember they wouldn’t come in from the field, like, they were hiding from me. You know, they were afraid of me because I was so different than they were, you know? Uh, they no longer hide from me now! [LAUGHS]\n\nES: [LAUGHS] Did you think about staying?\n\nMT: No, I didn’t, because at that time I was committed to my husband.\n\nES: How did you meet him?\n\nMARY TWOMEY: I met him in the Gatsfields in East Durham! Yes.\n\nES: And where is he from?\n\nMT: Well, he was born here in this country in Oyster Bay. When he was two-and-a-half, his mom was never really very content here, it’s the funniest thing. So she had a six-year-old -\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\n- and, um, they went back to Ireland. So he actually spent as much time in Ireland as I did. He- he came back here when he was about 12, 13. And he, uh- his dad- what happened is, the war broke out, and they weren’t able- at that time, I suppose you weren’t able to come back. Like the boat- there was no travel of tourists, like, or people like that. It was all military travel on the boats, on the ships! And, because the first ship I think back in around ‘48 I think, my father-in-law came back and he brought the family back then a year later. He brought- at the time, they had two chil- more children in Ireland. In the meantime, my mother-in-law —she was a very industrious woman— um, opened up a sto- a shop in Dublin, and um, her children lived between Dublin and the country because there was bombings at points, at some points in Dublin. So, they had to sent the children to the country.\n\nES: Who did they live with in the country?\n\nMT: They lived with aunts and uncles, yeah.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nES: After that initial trip that you made back when you were twenty, did you have an opportunity to travel again to see your family?\n\nMT: I- okay, so, alright- so, I had three children within three years and I did not go back until I was forty. I got to, yeah, celebrate my fortieth birthday in Ireland. And why I went back at that time was, for ten years previous to that, we all used to bring out our father.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nThe family decided that we would try and each take a year and go back for a few weeks. So, the first ones that went was myself and my sister and at that time, I had five children. And, uh, but then now, they were fairly nice age, ‘cause I was married nearly twenty years at that time. So that was the first time I went, and I went with my younger sister. Uh, and then I’ve went a couple of times on tours and always went home, but several years later.\n\nNM: To begin, we’ll hear Solange Baptiste, who recounts that her first plans to revisit Haiti were interrupted by the onset of warfare in 2004. We're summarizing this as the second military coup against the democratically elected former president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Between 1991 and 2004, the U.S. deployed multiple military operations in Haiti that ultimately led up to his ouster and involuntary departure to the United States. In the past 15 years, popular movements and government bodies in Haiti continue to grapple with ongoing concerns about past and current occupation, self-determination, and local governance.\n\n[SECOND ORAL HISTORY BEGINS, with SOLANGE BAPTISTE]\n\nYING ZHOU: You talk about how happy you were as a child when you were back in your country and you also talked about how happy you were when you come to New York. Can you share with us some stories, maybe a story from each place where you feel like, very happy? What does th- what does look like, like an event or something that you remember, both from your country and in New York?\n\nSOLANGE BAPTISTE: When we travel to Port-au-Prince, it was… different because we are living in smaller place. No matter how small it is, we always have space for one another.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nPeople leave to go to Port-au-Prince and come back to our hometown once a year so we can have family time.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nComing to America doesn’t destroy our family ties. It’s like, most of the people live in Canada because of the French language, so we travel to Canada, we always come here. And when I get to New York … there’s another a big family, no matter where I’m at. Work, on the street. I find I have a family! Yeah. So, family-oriented for me is very important and here, I can see having family here that’s make me- that’s why we always happy! Because most important for us is not how much we have, it’s the relationship, how we be there for one another.\n\nYING ZHOU: Right.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nDo you still go back to your country from time to time and see your family?\n\nSOLANGE BAPTISTE: 18 months after I came here, the civil war started. The country was destroyed completely by the civil war. It become now- it’s not- I would not be able to work freely in my- even though in my hometown, you could do it, but you have to do it… Cautious. \n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nLast time I went was 2008, I was visiting someone who were in the hospital. \n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nLiving in America for me now, it is a safe haven.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nIt is a sadness in- people who live there say, “Oh, you left at the right time,” and I found out it was blessing for me to be here. No matter what’s happen, I know I am in America under protection and I can go without any problem! [LAUGHS]\n\nNM: Next we'll hear from Luna Ranjit, who mentions the beginning of a civil war in 1991 in Nepal. In short, prominent communist parties launched guerrilla warfare campaigns following decades of state violence and suppression from the Nepali monarchy. After over two decades of warfare and a peace agreement in 2006, a series of elections in 2008 resulted in the establishment of a Nepali republic, in which Nepali voters elected members of Communist parties into local and national offices. Various parties, groups, and movements continue to fundamentally transform the Nepali state, with the newly-merged Nepal Communist Party holding the majority in popular votes and Parliament as of May 2018.\n\nThinking about connections between war and migration, let’s listen closer.\n\n[THIRD ORAL HISTORY BEGINS, with LUNA RANJIT]\n\nMEERA NAIR: What brought you here?\n\nLUNA RANJIT: ...to New York, or to U.S.? Um, well, I first came to U.S. in 1996, uh, for my college. So I, uh, went to Iowa, Grinnell College in Iowa for my undergraduate, and then I we- I worked for a bit in Washington, D.C. and then I went and got my, um, graduate degree and I came to New York in 2004 and I’ve been here since.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nSo I grew up in Kathmandu, in the capital of Nepal, in a working-class neighborhood. I mean, yeah. My parents were politically active, I had sort of a normal childhood, though, other than th- the part about my parents’, um, parents’ political activity, particularly my father’s. Um, you know, grew up with lots of cousins and uncles and aunts, um, in the same house as well as walking distance. And neighbors who had been there for generations, so it was sort of a very tight-knit community within a large city.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nMEERA NAIR: What was New York for you when you arrived?\n\nLUNA RANJIT: Mhm. So, I guess for me, when I first came here, I came here for my undergraduate degree. Four years, I really was thinking of this as a short stay. I’m here for my education, and I’m gonna go back home. But, back home was also going through a war at the time. We never called it civil war, but basically that’s what was going on. Because of the war, things were very, very unstable and so my family didn’t want me to come back to- and we are not from a family that has connections or resources and so going back and starting from scratch in a very volatile setting I think was not ideal. And also, like, because of my father’s political background, I guess he was also afraid that I would get too involved in the politics in Nepal and put myself in harm’s way. So my fa- my parents- uh, my family were really, uh, suggested I stayed back. And so I stayed back and then, you know. \n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nOnce I decided to stay here longer, I also wanted to have more, do more, uh, grounded work. Like, to be more rooted in a community.\n\nNM: Following Luna Ranjit talking about her family’s warnings against returning to Nepal, the next collection of oral histories in this episode is themed around family. The first clips come from an oral history with Antonina Cucchiara, who recounts memories of returning to Italy and first learning about the deaths of her grandmother and infant brother who had passed decades prior. Last, Esther Tabaco-Costanzo, born in Astoria, Queens, shares memories of conflict over whether she would join family living in the Philippines, or stay with her family in the U.S. \n\nHow do family histories and relationships change throughout migrations and returns? Let’s listen further.\n\n[FOURTH ORAL HISTORY BEGINS, with ANTONINA CUCCHIARA]\n\nANTONINA CUCCHIARA: I didn’t go back until after forty years. After forty years, I went back to visit Sicily.\n\nSTEPHANIE GONZALEZ: -\n\nTo the same time, we went to Rome, you know. … found out other things there.\n\nDo you want to share?\n\nYeah, I would like to share, actually! … sixty cousins there! You all gotta go there! … “Why did he want me to go there? Why did my father keep insisting, ‘You have to go, you have to go,’ I don’t know.” … phone book, address book, all my cousins, went to Sicily and surprised them. Everybody- nobody recognized me … aunts and uncles who were still alive back then recognize me. … wanna go visit the cemetery … father’s mother, father’s father is. ‘Cause as I visit people that are alive … I wanna go to the cemetery, I wanna go visit. I go visit my grandmother and- my father’s mother … “Oh, that’s nonna’s grave. Nina. She’s named after you. And she has your brother in your arms.” I said, “My brother?” I said, “My brother? … I didn’t know I had another brother.” Well, I guess that’s what got my mother sick all the time too ‘cause she lost a child. But sh- we never knew. … because the child was very … “Where’s my brother’s name?” … “You gotta ask your mother.” … “Bein’ that I’m here, I wanna put my brother’s name on the tombstone!” \n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nI said to my mother, “Ma, uh, you know, I went to visit all of my family in Italy …” … hits her head, like, “Oh boy.” … So, she started cryin’ and she told me the story that this baby was born.\n\n[AUDIO CUT]\n\nAnd at one month old, the baby got sick, had some sort of fever but nobody knew what it was … doctor gave him a pill of some sort. Why would you give a one-month-old a pill? I don’t know. … day and night … I guess I was older, so I don’t know where I was. With one of my cousins or my aunts. … They didn’t have any money to pay the hospital … “Bein’ that he’s gonna die, we gonna keep him and experiment on what happened with the baby. … keep him here.” My mother says, “No. I’m gonna take the baby with me and I’m gonna bury him in the town.” … didn’t have any money to do all that either … knew the baby was gonna die that night … my father went to sell his horses in Sicily, in the town, in San Giuseppe-ado. … he paid the doctor, cash, to give us the baby or else they would take him to experiment … took the baby with them, took him back to Sicily, the baby on the way died in my mother’s arms … my father went to the cemetery … paid him to open the cemetery and open the tombstone and bury the baby … and they closed it … There was no birth certificate, no death certificate … That’s why they couldn’t put the name on the tombstone … haunts me that there’s no name there. Bothers me. [BEGINS CRYING] … against the law, it’s against the law. … “ … Of course we would’ve put the baby’s name there … everything was done against the law!” … had to pray for him and that was it. … That was very hurtful to find out after forty years I went to Italy.\n\nSFG: Yeah, yeah! So I mean, that might’ve contributed to your mom-\n\nAC: That might’ve contributed … her mother not bein’ there for that! Her mother. So, a young girl had a baby, first, had me, then the second baby boy, all this turmoil, yeah, of course contributed to my mother bein’ sick and, and depressed. And not having not one sister, her own cousin, her own blood relative—it was all my father’s side. very good to her, but also, these are the in-laws, let’s face it. It’s not like your own, or your mother, no.\n\nSFG: So, for her, coming back to the United States put it back together for her a little bit.\n\nAC: Yeah, yeah.\n\nSFG: And it made your family more like a family again, right?\n\nAC: Yes, yes.\n\n[FIFTH ORAL HISTORY BEGINS, with ESTHER TABACO-COSTANZO]\n\nESTHER TABACO-COSTANZO: I remember I went to Abuhan by myself. Scariest thing! I’m thinking, “Oh my god!”\n\nJENNIFER QUIAMBAO, co-interviewer: So from Manila to…\n\nESTHER TABACO-COSTANZO: We stayed together, Manila, and then once we hit Bohol in the airport, they went to the city and I went to Abuhan. And I just remember getting out of the plane, and you know, it’s an airport! It’s all crowded kinda thing. I’m just like, “Okay, I just need one person that I know, just one person.” And there’s a crowd there. And I’m like, “Alright.” And some guy, “Hi Esther! Hi Esther!” I’m like, “Oh my God, I’m being stalked!” kinda thing! It was my cousin [NAME] best friend … all grown up and he’s a man now, and I’m like, “Oh my god!” … “Don’t you people have, like, people at airport things?!” Kinda?! … They all came to the airport to say, I mean, I don’t know, I was goin’ there! It was grea- I was just like, “Oh my God!” He was like, “You remember this, and you remember-?” I didn’t remember anybody! Like, everybody grew up, you know? I was just like, “Oh my god!” … stayed with my Auntie Tori, and we went there. I was like, “I tell ya,” I was like, “You know what, this is for me. I’m not going back home.” It was a time that, um- I had just gotten out of high school. What was my thing? Okay, so I did go to college, um. College, it wasn’t for me. It wasn’t anyth- you know? And why go to college if you’re not really doing anything? So, I decided to go to work, and, you know, I was some little clerk typist in something. So, uh, that’s when I wanted to go to the Philippines, and, “So, I’m not goin’ back there. I’m gonna stay here.” I think on the 28th day, I got a telegram from my father. And he said, “Don’t make me come- don’t make me come there.” ‘Cause I was on- ‘cause I had sent him a telegram, my flight was due back in like two days. I said, “Dad, I wanna stay.” … “Don’t make me come get you.” Or something like that. And I was on my flight. … But I cried and I cried for like months after that. I said, “Why can’t you just leave me there?” And he’s like, “What would you do there?” ‘Cause really, there is no- there’s no work, there’s no… And then I went back to school and, you know, I did well there, so... But, I tell ya. I went back one more time when my grandmother died, and uh, you know, everything changes but stays the same. So it was like that. And again, “I’ll be back in two years! You know, I got vacation, I got a full-time job now! ...” … and then I was engaged … Tony doesn’t like the heat. He’s very particular with food. Um, so then- and then, you know, you have your family and that’s it. After that, it’s just too hard.\n\nJQ: Mm.\n\nOUTRO\n\nNM: Thank you for listening with us on the Queens Memory Podcast.\n\nVisit our show notes blog at Queens Memory dot org. There, you’ll find full transcripts and written translations of this episode, and more to listen to from our archives. We’ve also added reading recommendations from Queens Public Library’s collections as well as resources from local community organizations. And, if you want your stories to join those you heard today and become part of our archives, head to Queens Memory dot org forward slash participate or to our show notes to find out more.\n\nI’d like to thank our producer Adriene Lara and our composer Elias Ravin. A warm thank you to Ro Garrido for providing fundamental collaboration and support, and to Richard Lee and Molly Schwartz for offering their guidance and wisdom. Thanks also to the Queens Public Library and the Institute of Museum and Library Services for hosting and funding this podcast. Finally, thank you to all the interviewees, interviewers, interns, and volunteers for collecting and sharing the stories that make this podcast possible.\n\nIf you’re listening with others, and want to reflect together, here are some guiding questions: Where are the places to which you’ve gone and come back? How have your relationships with them formed and changed over time? For the tenth and last episode of the season, we’ll remember stories of where we’ve been and think about where we want to go from here.\n\nListen with us next time on the Queens Memory Podcast.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/105/collection_resources/61532/file/138752#t=0.0,1646.68088"}]}]}]}